A group of 29 did the Panorama Walk in the Summerlands area of northwest Henderson. After the intros and karakia we set out shortly after 2pm from Sturges West Community House and went down Brookwood Drive to follow a boardwalk through wetland and reserves to come to Lake Panorama. Here we had our afternoon tea break admiring the first of many tiny artworks that local residents had planted along the trail. There were many more of these miniature masterpieces as we continued on around the lake. As we continued on through the streets to Leafield Cres we had to put on our rainjackets and get out our brollies. An alleyway led uphill to Sturges Rd and a viewpoint, but the band of light rain passing over stopped us from getting a view of Sky Tower and Rangitoto Island in the distance. From there we carried on through streets and alleyways to get back to our starting point at 4:05pm. We were to have had our devotions at a playground reserve on our way back, but the shower of rain prevented us from doing this. Instead our leader Cathie Black presented them at the Sturges West Community House carpark after we finished our walk. She spoke about hope, saying that her church pastor had been doing a series on Lamentations. Cathy had made her way through the first of the five poems about sadness and misery in this Old Testament book, and felt really miserable after reading the second poem. As she read the third poem she suddenly came upon one of the most hopeful verses in the Bible. Because God loves us, we are not consumed, His blessings to us never fail, they are new every morning. Cathie quoted Barack Obama saying the best way to avoid feeling hopeless is to get up and do something. If we spend time praying and reading the Bible we will find we are putting our hope in the Lord. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, soar like eagles, and run and not get weary (Isaiah 40:30).

DISTANCE  5.5km MAXIMUM SPEED 6km/h, AVERAGE SPEED 2.6km/h COST: carpooling from The Bracken $4.